Image capturing control apparatus, display control apparatus, and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

A control apparatus includes a measuring unit configured to measure an elapsed time after start of recording movie, a set movie creation unit configured to create a set of movies from a plurality of movies, a display control unit configured to perform control so as to display a plurality of sections respectively corresponding to the set of movies, and to display a section corresponding to a recorded movie in a first display appearance, and to display a section corresponding to a not-recorded movie in a second display appearance, wherein the display control unit is further configured to perform control to display, a portion indicating a rate of an elapsed time in the first display appearance, and a remaining portion in the second display appearance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation, and claims the benefit, of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/850,827, presently pending and filed onSep. 10, 2015, and claims the benefit of, and priority to, JapanesePatent Application No. 2014-186861, filed Sep. 12, 2014, and JapanesePatent Application No. 2014-186862, filed Sep. 12, 2014, whichapplications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a technique for recording a pluralityof movies to create a set of movies.

Description of the Related Art

In a series of image capturing operations in which movies recordedaccording to image capturing instructions issued at different timingsare recorded in association with one another, in some cases, therecording times and the number of movies to be recorded are set inadvance. In addition, there has been proposed a method for ending movierecording upon the set recording time elapse irrespective of a useroperation, or ending the series of image capturing operations inresponse to the preset number of movies being recorded.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-208761 discloses a methodof selecting a situation in which shooting is to be performed, fromamong a plurality of situations included in a preset scenario,performing shooting for each situation, and recording a series ofsituations as one project. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2010-160628 discloses a method of displaying an elapsed time fromrecording start by arranging a bar near a screen during recording of amovie for which a recording time is predetermined, and changing adisplay color of the bar in such a manner as to pass a vertex or anindex of each side every one second or 0.5 seconds.

Once the above-described series of recording operations ends, a user canobtain a set of movies constituted by the series of recorded movies,without editing the recorded movies. Thus, if recording is performed forthe set recording time, or if the set number of movies are recorded, theuser can complete a set of movies.

Nevertheless, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-208761,although a movie of a recording-finished situation and a movie of arecording-unfinished situation can be checked when selecting asituation, during movie recording, neither the progress of the movierecording nor the progress of movie recording among a plurality ofmovies can be identified. In contrast, in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2010-160628, while a movie is being recorded, the progressof the movie under recording can be identified, but Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2010-160628 fails to disclose a method fordisplaying, in a case in which a plurality of set movies is recorded,the progress of movie recording among the plurality of movies.

There is a movie recording method of applying a set effect. JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-77026 proposes an imagingapparatus capable of presetting a recording number of movie files to berecorded and a recording time of each movie file. The techniquedescribed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-77026receives a movie recording start instruction of a movie by the press ofa release button. In addition, if a preset recording time elapses, or ifthe release button is pressed before the recording time elapse, themovie recording is stopped. On the other hand, as described in JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-193063, there is a movie recordingmethod for generating a movie with a slow motion effect by recording, atlow frame rate, a movie recorded at high frame rate.

In the movie recording described in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2009-77026, when it is assumed that a preset effect isapplied to the recorded movie as in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2010-193063, if the image recording is casually stopped bythe same operation as that of the movie recording start instructionbefore the preset recording time elapse, a movie with the set recordingtime cannot be obtained. As a result, the obtained movie may not havethe preset effect at an adequate level. Thus, a high-quality movie maynot be obtained. For example, during movie recording for applying a slowmotion effect to a movie recorded for 2 seconds, if the movie recordingis casually stopped halfway, the resultant movie with the slow motioneffect may have only 1 second.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been devised in view of the above issue, andis directed to a technique for making, in movie recording for creating aset of movies from a plurality of movies, recording progress among allthe movies constituting the set recognizable.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above issue, andis directed to a technique for reducing, in recording a movie to whichan effect is to be applied, possibility that the recording of the movieis casually stopped.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a display controlapparatus includes a measuring unit configured to measure an elapsedtime after start of movie recording, a set movie creation unitconfigured to obtain a plurality of recorded movies, and to create a setof movies constituted by the plurality of movies, and a display controlunit configured to perform control so as to display a plurality ofsections respectively corresponding to the plurality of movies whichconstitute the set of movies consecutively so as to be adjacent to eachother, and to display a section corresponding to a recorded movie amongthe plurality of movies in a first display appearance, and to display asection corresponding to a not-recorded movie among the plurality ofmovies in a second display appearance, wherein the display control unitis further configured to perform control so as to display, in a sectioncorresponding to a movie which is under recording, a portion indicatinga rate of an elapsed time measured by the measuring unit with respect toa preset recording time in the first display appearance, and to displaya remaining portion in the section in the second display appearance.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exterior appearance of a digitalcamera.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the digital camera.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a flowchart in a creative image capturingmode of the digital camera according to the present exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates a flowchart in an automatic mode of a digital camera100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates a flowchart indicating a movie recording process ofthe digital camera 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3C illustrates a flowchart indicating a still image capturingprocess of the digital camera 100 according to the present exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart indicating a creative movie process ofthe digital camera 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 5A to 5D illustrate a flowchart indicating a display processduring movie recording in creative movie recording of the digital camera100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating indicator display in creativemovie recording of the digital camera 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit duringcreative movie recording standby of the digital camera 100 according tothe present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit duringcreative movie recording of the digital camera 100 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit of a casein which image capturing by the digital camera 100 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment is not available.

FIG. 7D is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit duringmovie recording standby in an automatic mode of the digital camera 100according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7E is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit duringmovie recording in an automatic mode of the digital camera 100 accordingto the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8A, which is composed of FIGS. 8A-1 and 8A-2, is a diagramillustrating a set of movies in creative movie recording of the digitalcamera 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a movie file in movie recording in anautomatic mode of the digital camera 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is to be noted that the following exemplary embodiment is merely oneexample for implementing the present invention and can be appropriatelymodified or changed depending on individual constructions and variousconditions of apparatuses to which the present invention is applied.Thus, the present invention is in no way limited to the followingexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 1A is an external view of a digital camera 100 serving as anexample of an image capturing control apparatus and a display controlapparatus to which the present invention is applicable. FIG. 1B is ablock diagram illustrating a configuration example of the digital camera100 serving as an example of the image capturing control apparatus andthe display control apparatus according to the present invention.

A display unit 28 is a display unit for displaying an image and varioustypes of information. A shutter button 61 is an operation unit forissuing an image capturing instruction. A mode selection switch 60 is anoperation unit for switching various modes. An operation unit 70 is anoperation unit including operation members such as various switches,buttons, and a touch panel 70 a that are used for receiving variousoperations from a user. A controller wheel 73 is a rotationally-operableoperation member included in the operation unit 70. A power switch 72switches between power on and power off. A recording medium 200 is arecording medium such as a memory card and a hard disc. A recordingmedium slot 201 is a slot for storing the recording medium 200.Communication between the recording medium 200 stored in the recordingmedium slot 201 and the digital camera 100 becomes available to enablerecording and reproduction. A lid 202 is a lid of the recording mediumslot 201. FIG. 1A illustrates a state in which the lid 202 is opened,and part of the recording medium 200 is taken out from the recordingmedium slot 201 to be exposed.

The mode selection switch 60 switches an operation mode (selects a mode)of a system control unit 50 to any of a still image recording mode, amovie recording mode, a reproduction mode, and the like. The modeselection switch 60 can directly switch the operation mode to any ofthese modes included in menu buttons. Alternatively, the switchingoperation may be performed in the following manner. First, the modeselection switch 60 once switches display to menu buttons. Then, theoperation mode is switched to any of these modes included in the menubuttons using another operation member. The movie recording mode alsoincludes a plurality of modes.

In FIG. 1B, an imaging lens 101 is a lens unit including a zoom lens anda focusing lens. A shutter 102 is a shutter having an aperture function.An imaging unit 103 is an image sensor including a charge-coupled device(CCD) sensor or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensorfor converting an optical image into an electrical signal. Ananalog-to-digital (A/D) converter 15 converts an analog signal into adigital signal. The A/D converter 15 is used for converting an analogsignal output from the imaging unit 103 into a digital signal.

An image processing unit 20 performs resize processing such aspredetermined pixel interpolation and reduction, and color conversionprocessing on data from the A/D converter 15 or data from a memorycontrol unit 22. In addition, the image processing unit 20 performspredetermined calculation processing using data of a captured image, andthe system control unit 50 performs exposure control and ranging controlbased on the obtained calculation result. As a result, through-the-lens(TTL) system autofocus (AF) processing, automatic exposure (AE)processing, and flash preliminary emission (EF) processing areperformed. The image processing unit 20 further performs predeterminedcalculation processing using data of a captured image, and also performsTTL system automatic white balance (AWB) processing based on theobtained calculation result.

A system timer 53 is a time measuring unit for measuring a time used forvarious types of control or a time of a built-in clock.

Output data from the A/D converter 15 is directly written into a memory25 via the image processing unit 20 and the memory control unit 22, orvia the memory control unit 22. The memory 25 stores image data obtainedby the imaging unit 103 and converted by the A/D converter 15 intodigital data, and image data to be displayed on the display unit 28. Thememory 25 has a recording capacity sufficient for storing apredetermined number of still images, and a predetermined time of amovie and voice.

In addition, the memory 25 also serves as a memory (video memory) forimage display. A digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 21 converts data forimage display that is stored in the memory 25, into an analog signal tosupply the analog signal to the display unit 28. In this manner, theimage data for display that is written in the memory 25 is displayed bythe display unit 28 via the D/A converter 21. The display unit 28performs display according to the analog signal from the D/A converter21, on a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). Thedigital signals having been once A/D-converted by the A/D converter 15and stored in the memory 25 are D/A-converted by the D/A converter 21,and consecutively transferred to the display unit 28 for display,thereby enabling a function as an electronic viewfinder and live viewdisplay.

A nonvolatile memory 51 is a memory serving as an electricallyerasable/recordable recording medium. For example, an electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or the like is used.Constants for operating the system control unit 50, programs, and thelike are recorded in the nonvolatile memory 51. Here, the programs referto computer programs for executing various flowcharts to be describedbelow in the present exemplary embodiment.

The system control unit 50 controls the entire digital camera 100. Byexecuting the above-described programs recorded in the nonvolatilememory 51, the system control unit 50 realizes each process of thepresent exemplary embodiment, which will be described below. A randomaccess memory (RAM) is used as the system memory 52. Constants foroperating the system control unit 50, variables, programs read from thenonvolatile memory 51, and the like are loaded into the system memory52. In addition, the system control unit 50 also controls display bycontrolling the memory 25, the D/A converter 21, the display unit 28,and the like. If various operations are performed on the mode selectionswitch 60, the shutter button 61, the operation unit 70, the systemcontrol unit performs control so as to perform corresponding operations.

In addition, the system control unit 50 can detect (touch detection) thefollowing operations performed on the touch panel 70 a or the statesthereof.

-   -   The new touch of a finger or a stylus that has not been touched        on the touch panel, i.e., the start of touch (hereinafter,        referred to as a “Touch-Down”).    -   The release of a finger or a stylus that has been touched on the        touch panel, i.e., the end of touch (hereinafter, referred to as        a “Touch-Up”).    -   The state in which nothing touches the touch panel (hereinafter,        referred to as a “Touch-Off”).

If the Touch-Down is detected, Touch-On is simultaneously detected.After the Touch-Down, normally, the Touch-On continues to be detecteduntil the Touch-Up is detected. Touch-Move is detected also in a statein which the Touch-On is being detected. Even if the Touch-On isdetected, Touch-Move is not detected unless the touch position moves.After the detection of the Touch-Up of all fingers or a stylus that havebeen touched on, the Touch-Off is detected.

A first shutter switch 62 is turned ON in the middle of an operation ofthe shutter button 61 provided on the digital camera 100, that is, byso-called half press thereof (i.e., an image capturing preparationinstruction), thereby generating a first shutter switch signal SW1.According to the first shutter switch signal SW1, an operation ofautofocus (AF) processing, automatic exposure (AE) processing, automaticwhite balance (AWB) processing, flash preliminary emission (EF)processing, or the like is started.

A second shutter switch 63 is turned ON upon completion of an operationof the shutter button 61, that is, by so-called full press thereof(i.e., an image capturing instruction), thereby generating a secondshutter switch signal SW2 (an image capturing instruction operation).According to the second shutter switch signal SW2, the system controlunit 50 starts operations of a series of imaging processes starting fromthe readout of a signal from the imaging unit 103 up to writing of imagedata onto the recording medium 200.

Operation members of the operation unit 70 are respectively assignedappropriate functions for each scene by, for example, selectivelyoperating various functional icons displayed on the display unit 28, soas to act as various functional buttons. Examples of the functionalbuttons include an end button, a return button, an image feeding button,a jump button, a narrowing-down button, and an attribute change button.For example, if a menu button is pressed, a menu screen for enablingvarious settings to be performed is displayed on the display unit 28.The user can intuitively perform various settings using the menu screendisplayed on the display unit 28, a four-direction (up, down, left, andright) button, and a SET button. In addition, the touch panel 70 a isalso included in the operation unit 70.

A power supply control unit 81 includes, for example, a batterydetecting circuit, a direct current (DC)-DC converter, and a switchcircuit for switching a block to be supplied with power. The powersupply control unit 81 detects whether or not a battery is attached, thetype of the battery, and remaining battery capacity. In addition, thepower supply control unit 81 controls, based on the detection result andan instruction from the system control unit 50, the DC-DC converter tosupply necessary voltage to components including the recording medium200 for necessary time period. A power source unit 30 includes a primarybattery such as an alkaline battery and a lithium battery, a secondarybattery such as a nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery, a nickel-metal hydride(NiMH) battery, a lithium (Li) battery, and an alternating current (AC)adapter.

The recording medium 200 is a recording medium such as a memory card forrecording a captured image. For example, the recording medium 200 isformed of a semiconductor memory, an optical disc, and magnetic disc.

Creative movie recording and display in the present exemplary embodimentwill now be described. In the creative movie recording, a movie isrecorded for a time length randomly set from among 3 to 6 seconds, andthe recorded movie (chapter) is recorded with an effect being applied,thereby creating a series of movies (creation of a set of movies)constituting a set, from four chapters obtained through similar imagecapturing and recording. The chapter refers to a movie recordedaccording to one instruction from the user in the creative movierecording, and a set of movies reproduced as a series of movies iscreated by four chapters. In addition, once a recording instruction isreceived, the recording of each movie is ended in response to the lapseof the set recording time, even if a recording end instruction is notreceived. Four movies recorded as chapters include a movie recorded fora different recording time. In addition, different effects such as aslow motion effect, a quick motion effect, an image lag effect areapplied to the respective movies to be recorded. In accordance with theapplication of these effects, a set of movies created by the creativemovie recording include a chapter having a different reproduction timeas compared with the other chapters. The four chapters are reproduced asa series of movies. The recording times of these chapters and the effectto be applied to each movie are determined for each movie correspondingto one chapter. Furthermore, a common effect may be similarly applied tothe four recorded movies, in addition to the above-described effects.Hereinafter, two differences between the creative movie recording andautomatic mode movie recording will be described.

As described above, in the creative movie recording, the digital camera100 records movies only by the user issuing recording instructions ofthe movies at arbitrary timings. Furthermore, effects are applied tothese movies, and the resultant movies are recorded as chapters. Then, aset of movies is created by combining or associating the plurality ofmovies. As a result, a set of movies unexpected by the user can becreated. In the creative movie recording, a recording time isautomatically set for each chapter, and recording automatically endsupon lapse of the set recording time. Thus, recording may end at atiming unexpected by the user. In addition, even if an elapsed time fromthe start of recording of a movie corresponding to one chapter isdisplayed, the user cannot identify when the recording of the movieunder recording ends. Furthermore, the user cannot identify which partof the whole of a set of movies is currently being recorded. Inaddition, since a predetermined number of movies are recorded so as tocreate a series of movies constituting a set, the progress thereof needsto be conveyed to the user for prompting recording. Thus, in the presentexemplary embodiment, the description will be given of display foridentifying the progress with respect to the whole of the set of moviesduring recording or during recording standby, in the movie recording inthe creative image capturing mode.

In addition, in one chapter of the creative movie recording, there is aperiod with any of the above-described slow motion effect, quick motioneffect, image lag effect, and the like, and a period with no effect. Theone chapter therefore includes various changes and effects that arevisually identifiable. In the slow motion effect, a frame rate of arecorded movie is set to be low. In contrast, in the quick motioneffect, a frame rate of a recorded movie is set to be high. In addition,the image lag effect is an effect of visualizing a residual image bysuperimposing the state of an object that is obtained a little whileago, onto the object being captured so that the object leaves the trailin an opposite direction to a moving direction of the object.Furthermore, possible effects to be applied to a movie are as follows:an effect of rotating an image at a predetermined speed by apredetermined angle; a color effect of changing an image color from apredetermined color to another predetermined color; and an effect ofgradually changing a color tone of an image. Unlike capturing andrecording of a movie in the automatic mode, in the creative imagecapturing mode, an effect that attracts user's attention is applied tothe recorded movie to be recorded. For example, one chapter includes aperiod with the slow motion effect, a period with no effect, and aperiod with the image lag effect. In this manner, in the case of settingan effect simultaneously with the start of movie recording, andrecording a movie while changing an effect to be applied, if therecording of the movie is interrupted, an effect to be applied to themovie recorded before the lapse of a set period is also interrupted.Thus, even when a period is set in such a manner that an effectinteresting for the user is applied, if the recording is interrupted, amovie with strangeness (uncompleted chapter) may be generated. Forexample, even when the image lag effect is set to be applied for 2seconds, only 0.3-second image lag effect may be applied. Thus, in thepresent exemplary embodiment, the description will be given of aconfiguration for preventing the user from casually issuing a recordingend instruction in the creative shot movie recording.

The creative image capturing mode includes creative movie recording andcreative still image capturing. In the creative still image capturing, astill image is captured according to an image capturing instruction fromthe user, and various effects are applied to the captured still image tobe recorded. In the present exemplary embodiment, processing in thecreative movie recording will be described.

<Creative Image Capturing Mode>

The creative image capturing mode is set when the creative imagecapturing mode is selected via the mode selection switch 60. Inaddition, the creative image capturing mode can be set from a menusetting. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of the displayunit 28 during recording standby. A standby indicator 703 illustrated inFIG. 7A indicates a display example of an indicator obtainable after theend of recording up to the second movie among four movies. Among foursections consecutively displayed, first and second sections from leftare displayed in white and the remaining two sections on the right sideare displayed in gray. Through such display of the indicator (change ina display appearance), the user can visually recognize that the half ofthe entire image file, i.e., recording up to the second chapter has beenfinished (rate of the number of recorded movies). The standby indicatorincludes four sections. The respective sections corresponding to themovies of the first to the fourth chapters are arranged in a line in arecording order from left. Standby indicators 703 (1), 703 (2), and 703(3) indicate display examples of the indicator 703 obtainable duringstandby before recording the first, the second, and the fourth chapters,respectively.

Next, the flow of the creative image capturing mode in FIGS. 2A and 2Bwill be described using display examples illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7C.When the creative image capturing mode is set, the creative imagecapturing mode illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B starts. The processing isrealized by a program recorded in the nonvolatile memory 51 being loadedinto the system memory 52 and executed by the system control unit 50.

In step S201, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not resetconditions of a set of movies are satisfied. If the system control unit50 determines that the reset conditions are satisfied (YES in stepS201), the processing proceeds to step S202. If the system control unit50 determines that the reset conditions are not satisfied (NO in stepS201), the processing proceeds to step S203. One of the reset conditionsis that an uncompleted set of movies (the number of chapters included ina series of movies constituting a set is less than four) is not includedin the recording medium 200. The other reset condition is that, in acase in which there is a chapter included in an uncompleted set ofmovies is included in the recording medium 200, the date on which thechapter is recorded differs from the date obtained at the start of thecreative image capturing mode in step S201. In other words, the resetconditions are satisfied except in a case in which an uncompleted set ofmovies is included in the recording medium 200, and the date at the timeof step S201 is the same as compared with a recording date and time ofthe first chapter of the uncompleted set of movies. In addition, evenwhen a set of movies is being created, in a case in which a recordingmedium on which a chapter is to be recorded is changed from a recordingmedium including the set of movies to another recording medium (i.e., ina case in which the changed recording medium 200 does not include anyuncompleted set of movies), the reset conditions are also satisfied.

In step S202, the system control unit 50 sets the number of recordedmovies N to 0, and records the set number in the system memory 52. Thenumber of recorded movies N is the number of chapters included in aseries of movies constituting a set in the creative movie recording. Inthe present exemplary embodiment, when the number of recorded movies Nbecomes 4, the creation of a set of movies ends.

In step S203, the system control unit 50 displays a live view image 701on the display unit 28. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, display related toshooting (display of display items) is provided on the display unit 28.For example, a creative movie mark 704, time display 722 of a shootingavailable time, a battery mark 721 indicating a remaining battery level,a shooting size, and a flash setting. In addition, if a category mark708 indicating the category of the creative movie recording is touched,a plurality of categories of effects to be applied to a movie isdisplayed, so that the user can select the category of an effect. Thecategory mark 708 illustrated in the drawing indicates an automaticcategory. Aside from the automatic category, the categories of effectsinclude retro, monochrome, and natural.

In step S204, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 0. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 0 (YES in step S204),the processing proceeds to step S205. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 0 (NO in stepS204), the processing proceeds to step S206.

In step S205, the system control unit 50 displays the standby indicator703 (1) on the display unit 28. At this time, the system control unit 50displays the standby indicator 703 (1) at the lower portion of thedisplay unit 28 in such a size that an area overlapped with the displayof the live view image 701 becomes small, and that respective displaycolors of the four sections of the indicator are recognizable. As aresult, the user can read the sections of the indicator while viewingthe live view image. In addition, during standby, it is often requiredto display setting items related to recording, such as the time display722 and the battery mark 721. It is desirable to display the standbyindicator 703 at such a position and in such a size that the user canrecognize the standby indicator 703 and the display of theabove-mentioned setting items, and the user does not feel difficulty inviewing the live view image. Furthermore, as illustrated in the standbyindicator 703 (1) in FIG. 7A, all the four sections are displayed ingray. The portions (sections 703 a to 703 d of the standby indicator 703(1)) displayed in gray indicate movies that have not been recorded yet.Thus, in a case in which all the sections are displayed in gray, it canbe seen that a set of movies including a movie to be recorded include norecorded movie.

In step S206, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 1. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 1 (YES in step S206),the processing proceeds to step S207. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 1 (NO in stepS206), the processing proceeds to step S208.

In step S207, the system control unit 50 displays a standby indicator703 (2) on the display unit 28. Among the four sections of the standbyindicator 703 (2), the first section 703 a is displayed in white so asto indicate that the corresponding movie has been already recorded. Atthis time, the second to the fourth sections 703 b to 703 d remain to bedisplayed in gray, the display color being unchanged from that in stepS205, so as to indicate that the corresponding movies have not beenrecorded yet.

In step S208, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 2. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 2 (YES in step S208),the processing proceeds to step S209. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 2 (NO in stepS208), the processing proceeds to step S210.

In step S209, the system control unit 50 displays the standby indicator703 on the display unit 28. Among the four sections of the standbyindicator 703, the first and the second sections 703 a and 703 b aredisplayed in white so as to indicate that the corresponding movies havebeen already recorded. At this time, the third and the fourth sections703 c and 703 d remain to be displayed in gray, the display color beingunchanged from that in step S205, so as to indicate that thecorresponding movies have not been recorded yet.

In step S210, the system control unit 50 displays a standby indicator703 (3) on the display unit 28. Among the four sections of the standbyindicator 703 (3), the first to the third sections 703 a to 703 c aredisplayed in white so as to indicate that the corresponding movies havebeen already recorded. At this time, the fourth section 703 d remains tobe displayed in gray, the display color being unchanged from that instep S205, so as to indicate that the corresponding movie has not beenrecorded yet.

In step S211, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thepower source unit 30 has capacity sufficient for recording one moviecorresponding to one chapter, and the recording medium 200 has capacitysufficient for recording one chapter. In short, the system control unit50 determines whether or not a movie corresponding to one chapter can berecorded. If the system control unit 50 determines that a moviecorresponding to one chapter can be recorded (YES in step S211), theprocessing proceeds to step S216. If the system control unit 50determines that a movie corresponding to one chapter cannot be recorded(NO in step S211), the processing proceeds to step S212. It is onlyrequired that the power source unit 30 has battery capacity sufficientfor recording one movie corresponding to one chapter, and the recordingmedium 200 has capacity sufficient for recording a movie correspondingto one chapter with an effect. In the present exemplary embodiment, arecording time for recording a movie corresponding to one chapter is notfixed, and is selected from among 3, 4, and 6 seconds. Thus, in thisstep, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the powersource unit 30 has battery capacity sufficient for 6-second movierecording and processing of applying an effect thereto. In the presentexemplary embodiment, the maximum length of a recording time of a movieto be recorded as one chapter is 6 seconds. It is therefore determinedthat the battery capacity corresponding to 6 seconds is sufficient forany of recording times that are to be possibly set.

In step S212, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, the system control unit 50displays a movie recording graphical user interface (GUI) button 711 ina grayout state, or hides the movie recording GUI button 711, so as todisable reception of an instruction of creative movie recording. FIG. 7Cillustrates an example of the display unit 28 during recording standbyindicating that creative movie recording cannot be performed.

In step S213, as indicated by an indicator 712 in FIG. 7C, the systemcontrol unit 50 displays sections of the standby indicator thatcorrespond to not-recorded movies (movies that have not recorded yetamong four movies) in a blackout state (displays in black) so as toindicate that the next movie cannot be recorded. At this time, as in theindicator 712, when two sections among the four sections are displayedin white and the remaining two sections are in the blackout state, it isindicated that movies corresponding to two chapters have not beenrecorded yet. The sections indicating the chapters corresponding tonot-recorded movies are displayed in gray again once the creative movierecording is enabled. In addition, if it is determined in S211 that amovie corresponding to one chapter cannot be recorded (NO in step S211),a shooting available time may be displayed as 0 second, as in timedisplay 714. Furthermore, if the capacity of the power source unit 30 isnot sufficient, battery capacity may be displayed in a black-filledmanner as in a battery mark 713 so as to notify the user that batteryruns out. By checking these kinds of display, the user can makepreparation so that creating movie recording can be performed again.

In step S214, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thesecond shutter switch 63 has been pressed after the press of the firstshutter switch 62 by operating the shutter button 61. If the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the second shutter switch 63 has beenpressed (YES in step S214), the processing proceeds to step S215. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the second shutter switch 63 hasnot been pressed (NO in step S214), the processing returns to step S201.

In step S215, the system control unit 50 performs a creative still imageprocess. Still image capturing will be described in a still imagecapturing process (FIG. 3C).

In step S216, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the system control unit 50displays a movie recording GUI button 702 on the display unit 28. Themovie recording GUI button 702 is a GUI button displayed on the displayunit 28, and for starting movie recording in response to a correspondingregion on the touch panel 70 a being pressed. In FIG. 7A, the wholebattery capacity of the battery mark 721 is displayed in white,indicating that the battery capacity is almost full. In the creativemovie recording, it is only required that battery capacity is sufficientfor recording a movie corresponding to one chapter. Thus, the batterymark display indicating battery capacity does not always indicates fullbattery.

In step S217, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not themovie recording GUI button 702 as illustrated in FIG. 7A has beenpressed (touched). If a touch operation is performed on a correspondingregion on the touch panel 70 a corresponding to the display unit 28, themovie recording GUI button 702 is determined to be pressed. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the movie recording GUI button702 has been pressed (YES in step S217), the processing proceeds to stepS218. If the system control unit 50 determines that the movie recordingGUI button 702 has not been pressed (NO in step S217), the processingreturns to step S214. In other words, the system control unit 50 waitsuntil the second shutter switch 63 or the movie recording GUI button 702is pressed. At this time, the digital camera 100 may enter a sleep modein response to lapse of a power saving start time.

In step S218, the system control unit 50 performs a creative movieprocess. The creative movie recording will be described below withreference to FIG. 4.

<Automatic Mode>

Next, the flow of the automatic mode in FIGS. 3A to 3C will be describedwith reference to FIG. 7D.

FIG. 3A illustrates a process flow of a normal shooting mode (anautomatic mode as an example). This process is achieved by loading aprogram recorded on the nonvolatile memory 51 into the system memory 52and the system control unit 50 executing the program. FIG. 7Dillustrates an example of the display unit 28 during recording standbyin the automatic mode.

In step S301, the system control unit 50 displays, on the display unit28, a live view image 710 as illustrated in FIG. 7D.

In step S302, similarly to step S216 in FIG. 2B, the system control unit50 displays a movie recording GUI button 716 as illustrated in FIG. 7D.

In step S303, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thesecond shutter switch 63 has been pressed by the operation of theshutter button 61 (physical button). If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has been pressed (YES instep S303), the processing proceeds to step S304. If the system controlunit 50 determines that the second shutter switch 63 has not beenpressed (NO in step S303), the processing proceeds to step S305.

In step S304, the system control unit 50 performs a still imagecapturing process. The still image capturing process will be describedbelow with reference to the flow illustrated in FIG. 3C.

In step S305, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not themovie recording GUI button 716 has been pressed (touched). If the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the movie recording GUI button 716 hasbeen pressed (YES in step S305), the processing proceeds to step S306.If the system control unit 50 determines that the movie recording GUIbutton 716 has not been pressed (NO in step S305), the processingreturns to step S303. In this manner, the system control unit 50 waitsuntil the second shutter switch 63 or the movie recording GUI button 716is pressed.

In step S306, the system control unit 50 performs a movie recordingprocess. The movie recording process will be described below withreference to the flow illustrated in FIG. 3B.

Next, the flow of the movie recording process illustrated in FIG. 3Bwill be described with reference to FIGS. 7D and 7E. FIG. 7E illustratesan example of the display unit 28 during recording in the automaticmode. In addition, FIG. 3B illustrates the flow of the movie recordingprocess, and illustrates the detailed flow of the movie recordingprocess in step S306 in FIG. 3A.

In step S310, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thecreative image capturing mode is set as a shooting mode setting of thedigital camera 100. If the system control unit 50 determines that thecreative image capturing mode is set (YES in step S310), the processingproceeds to step S311. If the system control unit 50 determines that thecreative image capturing mode is not set (NO in step S310), theprocessing proceeds to step S312.

In step S311, the system control unit 50 performs a creative movieprocess. The creative movie process will be described with reference tothe flow illustrated in FIG. 4.

If it is determined in step S310 that the creative image capturing modeis not set (NO in step S310), the following recording process isperformed. The flow of the process performed in such a case will bedescribed as an automatic mode (a mode in which, unlike the creativemovie process, recording is started and ended both according to a userinstruction, and a recorded movie is recorded without an effect beingapplied). In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, a shootingmode is described as either of the automatic mode and the creative imagecapturing mode, which will be described below. The shooting mode,however, is not limited to these modes, and other shooting modes may beprovided.

In step S312, the system control unit 50 hides the movie recording GUIbutton 716 that had been displayed during recording standby.

In step S313, the system control unit 50 displays a movie recording endGUI button 717 on the display unit 28. The recording of a movie isstarted in response to the movie recording GUI button 716 being pressed,whereas the recording of the movie is ended in response to the movierecording end GUI button 717 being pressed. By displaying the movierecording end GUI button 717 in the same size and in the same displayregion as the movie recording GUI button 716, the user can issue arecording end instruction by performing a touch operation on the sameposition as the position where a recording start instruction is issued.

In step S314, the system control unit 50 records image data obtained bythe imaging unit 103 and converted into digital data by the A/Dconverter 15, onto the recording medium 200 as a movie file 805 asillustrated in FIG. 8B. In the movie recording in the automatic mode, aneffect is not applied to a recorded movie, and the recorded movie isdirectly recorded for a recorded time. In addition, the movie recordingin the automatic mode, a recording time 718 is displayed so as toindicate how many seconds have elapsed from the start of movie recording(elapsed time from recording start). Thus, the user can end therecording after confirming that a desired recording time has elapsed.

In step S315, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not themovie recording end GUI button 717 has been pressed (touched). If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the movie recording end GUIbutton 717 has been pressed (YES in step S315), the processing proceedsto step S316. If the system control unit 50 determines that the movierecording end GUI button 717 has not been pressed (NO in step S315), theprocessing returns to step S314.

In step S316, the system control unit 50 stops recording the image dataobtained by the imaging unit 103 and converted into digital data by theA/D converter 15, onto the recording medium 200 as a movie. If the movierecording is stopped, the movie recording end GUI button 717 is hiddenagain, and the movie recording GUI button 716 is displayed.

Next, the flow of the still image capturing process illustrated in FIG.3C will be described. FIG. 3C illustrates the flow of the still imagecapturing process.

In step S320, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thecreative image capturing mode is set in the digital camera 100. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the creative image capturing modeis set (YES in step S320), the processing proceeds to step S321. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the creative image capturing modeis not set (NO in step S320), the processing proceeds to step S322.

In step S321, the system control unit 50 performs a creative still imageprocess. In the creative still image process, a still image is captured,the still image is edited and adjusted by applying an effect (e.g., aneffect of changing the color of an object, and an effect of changing thecomposition of an object), and then the resultant still image isrecorded.

In step S322, the system control unit 50 performs still image capturingin the automatic mode.

In this manner, in the present exemplary embodiment, if the movierecording GUI button 716 on the touch panel 70 a is pressed, movierecording is started. Meanwhile, if the second shutter switch 63 ispressed, still image capturing is started. In addition, by determiningwhether or not the creative image capturing mode is set, image capturingis performed in the automatic mode or the creative image capturing mode.

<Creative Movie Process>

Next, the flow of the creative movie process illustrated in FIG. 4 willbe described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C, and 7B. This process isachieved by loading a program recorded on the nonvolatile memory 51 intothe system memory 52 and the system control unit 50 executing theprogram.

In step S401, the movie recording GUI button 702 displayed on thedisplay unit 28 is hidden. If the movie recording GUI button 702 ishidden, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, in a region in which the movierecording GUI button 702 had been displayed, a part of a live view image705 is displayed. In the creative image capturing mode, after the movierecording GUI button 702 is hidden, unlike the automatic mode, the movierecording end GUI button is not displayed, and a movie recording endinstruction according to a touch operation is not received. In the movierecording in the creative image capturing mode, a period correspondingto a part of the set recording time, and an effect to be applied to amovie recorded during the period are set. Thus, if the recording isended before the lapse of the set recording time, a movie with a halfwayeffect may be generated. In addition, during movie recording in thecreative image capturing mode, an image with a corresponding effect isnot displayed on the display unit 28. The user therefore cannotrecognize what type of effect is applied to a movie which is underrecording before being recorded. Thus, if a start instruction and an endinstruction of a movie can be issued by the same operation as in theautomatic mode, it may be determined that recording can be ended at anytiming, and movie recording may be casually ended in the judgment of theuser. For this reason, a movie recording end instruction is not receivedaccording to a touch operation. With this configuration, creative movierecording can be performed for the preset recording time without beingcasually stopped by the user, and a chapter with an effect being appliedfor the set period can be obtained.

In step S402, the system control unit 50 determines a recording timeRecT. In the present exemplary embodiment, the recording time RecT isdetermined by being selected from among 3, 4, and 6 seconds. Therecording time RecT is determined according to an effect to be appliedto a movie. In the present exemplary embodiment, while a recording timeof each movie is 3 to 6 seconds, a reproduction time of each movie isset to be 4 to 7 seconds. The recording time of a movie is set so that areproduction time obtainable after each effect is applied to the moviefalls within the range of 4 to 7 seconds.

In step S403, the system control unit 50 determines a drawing pixelwidth DrawW of a shooting-in-progress indicator. A shooting-in-progressindicator 707 illustrated in FIG. 7B includes four sections, and therespective sections corresponding to the first to the fourth movies arearranged in order from left. Each section is displayed in gray if acorresponding chapter has not been recorded yet, and displayed in whiteif the corresponding chapter has already been recorded. If the recordingof the chapter progresses, the display color of each section switchesfrom gray to white starting from the first section to the four sectionin order from left, thereby indicating a progress rate of movierecording (progress rate display). In this manner, the chaptercorresponding to a not-recorded movie is displayed in gray while thechapter corresponding to a recorded image is displayed in white,similarly to the standby indicator.

The display of the shooting-in-progress indicator will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C. FIG. 6A is a diagram for illustratinga section width BarW and a drawing pixel width DrawW of the indicatordisplayed during recording. FIG. 6B is a diagram for furtherillustrating a drawing pixel width DrawW for each recording time. Asection width BarW 603 illustrated in FIG. 6A is equal to the length ofone section, and indicates the entire recording time of one chapter (amovie recorded according to one recording instruction). The displaylength does not vary according to a recording time. In addition, thesection width BarW 603 illustrates, in an enlarged manner forexplanation, one section of the shooting-in-progress indicator 707illustrated in FIG. 7B that indicates the progress during recording. Inother words, the length of the section width BarW 603 remains the sameregardless of whether a recording time is 3, 4, or 6 seconds. Inaddition, a white portion 601 indicates the rate of the length of arecording time of a recorded portion of a movie corresponding to onechapter. In contrast, a gray portion 602 indicates the rate of thelength of a recording time of a not-recorded portion. A drawing pixelwidth DrawW 604 indicates a drawing pixel width of a portion the displaycolor of which is switched (recolored) from gray to white by one updateof indicator display. During recording, display in one section of theindicator is updated in accordance with the progress of recording, so asto indicate that recording in a predetermined period (rewriting time Tα)is completed. The rewriting time Tα is a reciprocal of a frame rateDrawF. In the present exemplary embodiment, switching of the color ofthe indicator from gray to white indicates that recording hasaccordingly progressed. In other words, as recording progresses, thedisplay color of each section of the indicator, which had been displayedentirely in gray at the start of recording, switches from gray to whitestarting from the left side in each recording period, at a progress ratecorresponding to a set recording time. Through such display, the usercan recognize the progress of the recording. In addition, when therecording ends, one section displayed in gray at the start of recordingis displayed entirely in white. Thus, based on the change in displaycolor, the user can recognize that recording corresponding to onechapter is ended, in addition to the progress of the recording.

In addition, the drawing pixel width DrawW, which is a width in whichthe display progresses through one drawing (the display indicating theprogress rate is changed) can be obtained by the following formula:DrawW=BarW/(RecT*DrawF)

The frame rate DrawF indicates the number of updates of drawingperformed on the display unit 28 per unit time (1 second). The value ofthe frame rate DrawF depends on the display unit 28, the system controlunit 50, or the like. Accordingly, since the section width BarW and theframe rate DrawF have values that do not change according to eachchapter of a movie, it can be seen that the width of the drawing pixelwidth DrawW varies for each section only according to the length of therecording time RecT. Drawing pixel widths for the respective recordingtimes illustrated in FIG. 6B include a drawing pixel width DrawW 605 ofa case in which a recording time is 3 seconds, a drawing pixel widthDrawW 606 of a case in which a recording time is 4 seconds, and adrawing pixel width DrawW 607 of a case in which a recording time is 6seconds. When these drawing pixel widths are compared, it can be seenthat, as the value of the recording time RecT increases, the width ofthe drawing pixel width DrawW becomes narrower, whereas as the value ofthe recording time RecT decreases, the width of the drawing pixel widthDrawW becomes wider. In other words, as the recording time becomeslonger, the progress of the progress rate becomes slower, whereas as therecording time becomes shorter, the progress of the progress ratebecomes faster. The progress in the recording of a movie correspondingto one chapter can be visually recognized. In addition, in any of thelengths of the recording times, the drawing of the progress rate endsupon the lapse of the determined recording time of a movie.

In step S404, the system control unit 50 starts movie recording, and therecorded movie with an effect being applied is recorded onto therecording medium 200 in parallel with the progress of the movierecording. An effect to be applied to each movie is randomly selectedfrom among slow motion/quick motion/image lag effects. The type of aneffect applied to a movie which is under recording is not displayedduring recording of the movie. Furthermore, in response to the start ofthe movie recording of the first chapter, an effect to be applied to allof the four chapters is selected from color filter/brightnesscombination, aside from slow motion/quick motion/image lag effects.

In step S405, the system control unit 50 performs a display processduring movie recording. The display process during movie recording willbe described below with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D.

In step S406, the system control unit 50 stops movie recording. In thecreative movie recording, the start of movie recording is instructed bythe user, and the movie recording is automatically stopped after thelapse of a randomly set recording time. Nevertheless, in the creativemovie recording, although a movie recording end instruction is notreceived on the touch panel 70 a, movie recording can be ended by thepress of the second shutter switch 63. In movie recording in theautomatic mode, a start instruction and an end instruction of movierecording can be issued by touch operations performed on the button onthe touch panel 70 a. In contrast, in the creative movie recording, astart instruction and an end instruction of movie recording issued onthe same instruction unit are not received. In this manner, in thecreative movie recording, a button for instructing movie recording endis not displayed, thereby preventing the user from casually ending themovie recording.

In step S407, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 0. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 0 (YES in step S407),the processing proceeds to step S408. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 0 (NO in stepS407), the processing proceeds to step S409.

In step S408, the system control unit 50 creates a new movie file on therecording medium 200, and records the latest chapter recorded in theprocess of step S404 as part of the created movie file. FIGS. 8A and 8Billustrate recording formats of movies recorded on the recording medium200. FIGS. 8A-1 and 8A-2 illustrate recording formats of a series ofmovies constituting a set in the creative movie recording. FIG. 8Billustrates a recording format of a movie in movie recording in theautomatic mode. FIG. 8A-1 illustrates a recording format of a case inwhich four chapters are arranged in order in a single created movie file801, whereby a series of movies constituting a set is created. In thepresent exemplary embodiment, the description will be given assumingthat a series of movies constituting a set is recorded as a single moviefile. Nevertheless, movies obtained through a series of recordings maynot be recorded as a single movie file. For example, a series of moviesconstituting a set may be created in the following manner. Asillustrated in FIG. 8A-2, the movies are recorded on the recordingmedium 200 as separate movie files, and the same attribute information(set information 802) is added to these movies, whereby a set of moviesis created. In this manner, when a movie corresponding to a chapter iscreated as a movie file, in step S408, a movie recorded with new setinformation 802 being added is recorded as a movie file. When four moviefiles (chapters) having the same set information 802 are recorded on therecording medium 200, a series of movies constituting a set is completed(the four movie files can be reproduced as a series of movies). Asanother alternative, the following case is also included. Informationthat can associate a plurality of obtained movies with one another maybe added to the plurality of movies so as to form a set of movies later.In this case, the plurality of movies is reproduced or connected as aset of movies actually by an application or software. The set of movies,however, are assumed to be created by a creation unit that has recordedthe plurality of movies in association with one another.

In step S409, the system control unit 50 arranges (records) the latestmovie recorded in step S404, into the existing movie file 801 on therecording medium 200.

In step S410, the system control unit 50 performs an end process. In theend process, a compression process of a recorded movie, creation of athumbnail, and the like are performed, and the processed movie and thecreated thumbnail are recorded together with a recording date and time.As illustrated in FIG. 8A-1, the first to the fourth chapters arerecorded in order (recording-controlled so as to be connected) in themovie file 801, thereby creating a movie file. In addition, in a case inwhich a series of movies constituting a set is created by adding thesame set information, a file name and file identification data (ID) ofeach movie, and set information of a series of movies including thecorresponding movie are added in this step, a compression process of themovie and creation of a thumbnail are performed, and the processed movieand the created thumbnail are recorded together with a recording dateand time. Based on the information such as the set information 802, amovie file ID 804, and the recording date and time that are recordedhere, an order such as the order in which the four chapters are recorded(in which order the four chapters are to be reproduced) is identified.

In step S411, the system control unit 50 increments the number ofrecorded movies N by 1, and records the obtained number of recordedmovies N into the system memory 52.

In step S412, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is equal to or larger than 4. If the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the number of recorded movies N is equalto or larger than 4 (YES in step S412), the processing proceeds to stepS413. If the system control unit 50 determines that the number ofrecorded movies N less than 4 (NO in step S412), the creative movieprocess is ended.

In step S413, the system control unit 50 sets the number of recordedmovies N to 0. As a series of movies constituting a set includes fourmovies, every time four movies included in a series of moviesconstituting a set are recorded, the value of the number of recordedmovies N is set to 0.

<Display Process During Movie Recording>

Next, the flow of the display process during movie recording illustratedin FIGS. 5A to 5D will be described with reference to FIG. 7B. FIGS. 5Ato 5D illustrate a flowchart indicating the display process during movierecording in step S405 in FIG. 4, and illustrate the flow of a processduring recording (after the press of the movie recording GUI button 702until the lapse of the recording time). FIG. 7B illustrates an exampleof the display unit 28 during recording. The shooting-in-progressindicator 707 illustrated in FIG. 7B indicates a display example of theindicator obtainable after the end of recording up to the second movieamong four movies. Shooting-in-progress indicators 707 (1), 707 (2), and707 (3) illustrated below the live view image 705 indicate displayexamples of the shooting-in-progress indicator during the recording ofthe first chapter, the second chapter, and the fourth chapter,respectively.

In step S501, the system control unit 50 causes the system timer 53 tostart measuring a recording time.

In step S502, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 0. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 0 (YES in step S502),the processing proceeds to step S503. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 0 (NO in stepS502), the processing proceeds to step S509.

In step S503, the system control unit 50 displays theshooting-in-progress indicator 707 in which all the sections aredisplayed in gray. As illustrated in the shooting-in-progress indicator707 in FIG. 7B, the shooting-in-progress indicator 707 is displayed in alarger display size, and displayed to have a longer display width ofeach section as compared with the standby indicator 703, so that aportion inside each section can be clearly seen. In other words, thestandby indicator 703 is displayed with smaller-sized sections (smallsections) than those of the shooting-in-progress indicator 707. Thewidths of the respective sections are equal. The respective sectionscorrespond to the recording statuses (the progresses of the recordings,and the states indicating whether or not the corresponding movies havebeen already recorded) of movies of the first chapter, the secondchapter, the third chapter, and the fourth chapter in order from theleft. If the four sections are displayed in gray and there is no sectiondisplayed in white, it can be seen that there is no recorded movie, andsuch a state indicates being at the start of recording of the firstmovie.

In step S504, the system control unit 50 causes the system timer 53 tostart measuring a rewriting time.

In step S505, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not arewriting time Tα has elapsed from the latest measurement start of therewriting time in step S504. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the rewriting time Tα has elapsed (YES in step S505), theprocessing proceeds to step S506. If the system control unit 50determines that the rewriting time Tα has not elapsed (NO in step S505),the system control unit 50 keeps waiting until the rewriting time Tαelapses.

In step S506, as illustrated in a shooting-in-progress indicator 707(1), the system control unit 50 displays (switches the display color towhite) a progress rate according to the elapsed time from the recordingstart, in the first section 707 a among the four sections with thedrawing pixel width DrawW calculated in step S403.

In step S507, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therecording time RecT set in step S402 has elapsed from the measurementstart of the recording time in step S501. If the system control unit 50determines that the recording time RecT has elapsed (YES in step S507),the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the recording time RecT has not elapsed (NO in step S507), theprocessing proceeds to step S508.

In step S508, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thesecond shutter switch 63 has been pressed. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has been pressed (YES instep S508), the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has not been pressed (NO instep S508), the processing returns to step S504.

In step S509, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 1. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 1 (YES in step S509),the processing proceeds to step S510. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 1 (NO in stepS509), the processing proceeds to step S516.

In step S510, the system control unit 50 displays theshooting-in-progress indicator 707 in which the first section isdisplayed in white. Since the first section is displayed in white, andthe second and the subsequent sections are displayed in gray, it can beseen that the second movie is being recorded. In this manner, in thepresent exemplary embodiment, during a recording of a chapter, whetheror not the recordings of the other three chapters have finished isdisplayed together with the progress of the chapter being recorded.Thus, the user can recognize which chapter among the four movies isbeing recorded, and which point of the chapter is being recorded. Inaddition, the recording progress up to the completion of a set of moviescan be recognized.

In step S511, the system control unit 50 causes the system timer 53 tostart measuring a rewriting time.

In step S512, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therewriting time Tα has elapsed from the latest measurement start of therewriting time in step S511. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the rewriting time Tα has elapsed (YES in step S512), theprocessing proceeds to step S513. If the system control unit 50determines that the rewriting time Tα has not elapsed (NO in step S512),the system control unit 50 keeps waiting until the rewriting time Tαelapses.

In step S513, as illustrated in a shooting-in-progress indicator 707(2), the system control unit 50 displays (switches the display color towhite) a progress rate according to the elapsed time from the recordingstart, in the second section 707 b among the four sections with thewidth of the drawing pixel width DrawW calculated in step S403.

In step S514, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therecording time RecT set in step S402 has elapsed from the measurementstart of the recording time in step S501. If the system control unit 50determines that the recording time RecT has elapsed (YES in step S514),the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the recording time RecT has not elapsed (NO in step S514), theprocessing proceeds to step S515.

In step S515, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thesecond shutter switch 63 has been pressed. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has been pressed (YES instep S515), the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has not been pressed (NO instep S515), the processing returns to step S511.

In step S516, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thenumber of recorded movies N is 2. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is 2 (YES in step S516),the processing proceeds to step S517. If the system control unit 50determines that the number of recorded movies N is not 2 (NO in stepS516), the processing proceeds to step S523.

In step S517, the system control unit 50 displays theshooting-in-progress indicator 707 in which the first and the secondsections are displayed in white. Among the four sections of theshooting-in-progress indicator 707, the first and the second sectionsare displayed in white, and the third and the subsequent section aredisplayed in gray. Thus, it can be seen that the third movie is beingrecorded.

In step S518, the system control unit 50 causes the system timer 53 tostart measuring a rewriting time.

In step S519, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therewriting time Tα has elapsed from the latest measurement start of therewriting time in step S518. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the rewriting time Tα has elapsed (YES in step S519), theprocessing proceeds to step S520. If the system control unit 50determines that the rewriting time Tα has not elapsed (NO in step S519),the system control unit 50 keeps waiting until the rewriting time Tαelapses.

In step S520, the system control unit 50 displays (switches the displaycolor to white) a progress rate according to the elapsed time from therecording start, in the third section 707 c among the four sections ofshooting-in-progress indicator 707, with the width of the drawing pixelwidth DrawW calculated in step S403.

In step S521, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therecording time RecT set in step S402 has elapsed from the measurementstart of the recording time in step S501. If the system control unit 50determines that the recording time RecT has elapsed (YES in step S521),the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the recording time RecT has not elapsed (NO in step S521), theprocessing proceeds to step S522.

In step S522, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thesecond shutter switch 63 has been pressed. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has been pressed (YES instep S522), the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has not been pressed (NO instep S522), the processing returns to step S518.

In step S523, the system control unit 50 displays theshooting-in-progress indicator 707 in which the first to the thirdsections are displayed in white. Among the four sections of theshooting-in-progress indicator 707, the first to the third sections aredisplayed in white, and the fourth section is displayed in gray. Thus,it can be seen that the fourth movie is being recorded.

In step S524, the system control unit 50 causes the system timer 53 tostart measuring a rewriting time.

In step S525, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therewriting time Tα has elapsed from the latest measurement start of therewriting time in step S524. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the rewriting time Tα has elapsed (YES in step S525), theprocessing proceeds to step S526. If the system control unit 50determines that the rewriting time Tα has not elapsed (NO in step S525),the system control unit 50 keeps waiting until the rewriting time Tαelapses.

In step S526, as illustrated in a shooting-in-progress indicator 707(3), the system control unit 50 displays (switches the display color towhite) a progress rate according to the elapsed time from the recordingstart, in the fourth section 707 d among the four sections with thewidth of the drawing pixel width DrawW calculated in step S403.

In step S527, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not therecording time RecT set in step S402 has elapsed from the measurementstart of the recording time in step S501. If the system control unit 50determines that the recording time RecT has elapsed (YES in step S527),the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50 determinesthat the recording time RecT has not elapsed (NO in step S527), theprocessing proceeds to step S528.

In step S528, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not thesecond shutter switch 63 has been pressed. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has been pressed (YES instep S528), the movie recording is ended. If the system control unit 50determines that the second shutter switch 63 has not been pressed (NO instep S528), the processing returns to step S524.

As described above, in steps S504 to S508, S511 to S515, S518 to S522,and S524 to S528, after the start of movie recording, every time therewriting time Tα elapses, the display color of a section is switchedfrom gray to white with the width of the drawing pixel width DrawWcalculated in step S403. In this manner, in the present exemplaryembodiment, aside from the progress of the creation of a series ofmovies constituting a set, the recording progress (elapsed time in therecording time) of one movie (chapter) included in the set can berecognized through the display of the indicator (within the section). Inaddition, the user can recognize, through the display of the indicator,the progress rate, i.e., how much longer it takes to end the recordingof one chapter being recorded.

The creative movie recording in the present exemplary embodiment will bedescribed below based on the two points, specifically, the display ofthe indicator and the display of the movie recording end GUI button.

<Indicator Display>

In this manner, according to the exemplary embodiment described above,when a series of movies constituting a set is created from a pluralityof movies, the user can recognize the recording progress (progressstatus) among all the movies included in the set of movies. In otherwords, during the creation of the set of movies (while recording moviesincluded in the set of movies and during standby), a sectioncorresponding to a recorded chapter is displayed in white, whereas asection corresponding to a not-recorded chapter is displayed in gray.Furthermore, during recording, the display color of a sectioncorresponding to a chapter being recorded is switched from gray to whiteaccording to the progress of recording. More specifically, the displaycolor of a recording-finished portion of each chapter is switched fromgray to white. As a result, the progress of the recording can bevisually recognized through the display of the indicator. The standbyindicator is smaller than the shooting-in-progress indicator, and isdisplayed in such a manner that an area where the standby indicator isdisplayed in a state of being overlapped with the live view imagebecomes smaller. The standby indicator indicates, by the display colorsof sections indicating the statuses of respective recordings, whetherthe recording has finished. As a result, during the standby beforerecording a movie, the progress of the recording can be recognized whileviewing the live view image. The shooting-in-progress indicator islarger than the standby indicator, and is displayed in such a size thata change in the display color of a portion within one section (the rateof the display indicating the finished recording) is recognizable, andwith such a broad section width that the progress can be visuallyrecognized with ease. During recording, the display is updated atcertain periods so that the progress is recognizable. Thus, therecording-finished portion (recording-finished chapter andrecording-finished portion within the chapter being recorded) and theprogress until the recording end can be recognized. The displayindicating the recording-finished chapter, and the display indicatingthe rate of the recording-finished portion within one chapter aresimilarly displayed in white. Furthermore, the display colors of thedisplay indicating the recording-finished chapter and the displayindicating the rate of the recording-finished portion within one chapterare switched in the same direction.

In addition, in the shooting-in-progress indicator, the sections aredisplayed in an equal width (the length in which the display color ischanged from the recording start to the recording end) irrespective ofthe recording time of each chapter. Thus, the user can recognize theprogress until the recording end of one chapter. In the creative movierecording, a series of movies constituting a set is created by the fourchapters including chapters with different recording times andreproduction times. Therefore, if the progress is displayed by the rateconstituting a set of movies instead of displaying the recordingprogress in time unit, the user can recognize the progress of thecreation of a set of movies more easily. In addition, the user cancreate a set of movies with an effect being applied only by recordingthe movies without manually editing the recorded movies.

<Display of Movie Recording End GUI Button>

Furthermore, according to the exemplary embodiment described above, inresponse to the creative movie recording being started, the movierecording GUI button 702 on the touch panel 70 a is hidden, and themovie recording end GUI button 717 is also not displayed. In otherwords, the user cannot issue a movie recording end instruction by thesame operation (touch operation) as the operation for issuing a movierecording start instruction. This prevents the movie recording frombeing casually interrupted. In addition, since this prevents the movierecording from being casually interrupted, the possibility that a moviewith a halfway effect is generated is reduced. In the present exemplaryembodiment, an effect applied to a movie is associated with a recordingtime and a reproduction time. Thus, if an actual recording time is lessthan the set recording time, an effect set to be applied to one movie ishalfway applied thereto. The movie recording end instruction can beissued by the press of the second shutter switch 63 (the image capturinginstruction method for still images), but this is not the same touchoperation as the movie recording start instruction. Accordingly, themovie recording start instruction and the movie recording endinstruction cannot be easily issued by the same operation, unlike themovie recording in the automatic mode. In addition, the movie recordingend GUI button 717 (movie recording end instruction unit), which isdisplayed in the automatic mode, is not displayed. This makes the userrecognize that it is desirable not to end movie recording halfway, andalso prevents the user from thinking of an idea of ending the movierecording in the first place. In addition, the movie recording end GUIbutton 717 is not displayed. This can reduce the stress given to theuser compared with a case in which the movie recording end GUI button717 is displayed, but even if a touch operation is performed thereon,the movie recording end GUI button 717 actually does not receive themovie recording end instruction. Furthermore, the system control unit 50does not need to perform an unnecessary display process, which canreduce processing load. As described above, in the present exemplaryembodiment, the movie recording end GUI button 717 is not displayedduring the creative movie recording, thereby increasing the possibilitythat a set of movies having a set effect can be created.

In addition, during the recording onto the recording medium 200,different effects such as the slow motion/quick motion/image lag effectsare applied to movies, so that the user can record movies without beingconscious of, during the recording, the effects to be applied to themovies. In this manner, while recording movies, only the progress of themovie recording is displayed, and neither an effect to be appliedthereto nor a movie with an effect being applied is displayed. Thus, theuser performs recording without being conscious of an effect. As aresult, a set of movies unexpected by the user can be created. Inaddition, based on recorded movies, the user can obtain a set of uniquemovies being different from a normal movie with no effect being applied,without performing editing work of movies.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the description hasbeen given of a case in which a movie to which a set effect is to beapplied is recorded onto the recording medium 200 after the effect beingapplied thereto. The present invention, however, is not limited thereto,and is effective also in the recording of a movie to be reproduced withan effect being applied. In such a case, an effect to be applied to aset of movies is recorded in association with the set of movies. Also ina case in which a movie is reproduced with an effect being applied, ifthe recording of the movie is casually interrupted by the user, theeffect may be applied halfway to the movie, so that a high-quality moviemay not be obtained. More specifically, a recorded movie is recorded asa movie file without an effect being applied, and the type and thesection of the effect to be applied for reproduction are stored asattribute information of the movie file. Then, before reproducing themovie, the effect indicated by the attribute information is applied tothe movie read from the movie file, and the resultant movie isreproduced. In this manner, the present invention is also applicable tomovie recording performed in a case in which it is known in advance thatan effect is to be applied for reproduction. In addition, thedescription has been given of a case in which a recorded movie isrecorded onto the recording medium 200. Alternatively, the presentinvention is also effective in a case in which the recorded movie istemporarily recorded (arranged) into a buffer memory, and then recordedinto a nonvolatile memory.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the description hasbeen given of a case in which a recording time, a drawing pixel widthDrawW, and an effect are set before each recording. Alternatively,recording times, drawing pixel widths DrawW, and effects of all the fourmovies may be determined in response to the first movie included in aset of movies being started to be recorded. Yet alternatively, effectsto be applied to the four movies may be determined in association, andrecorded into the system memory 52.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the description hasbeen given of a case in which the shooting-in-progress indicator isdisplayed in a larger size than that of the standby indicator so thatthe progress of each section is visible, whereas the standby indicatoris displayed in such a manner that the overlapped area with the liveview image becomes smaller. The display size and the shape, however, arenot limited to those in the provided example. In a case in which thelive view image is displayed with so-called pillar boxes during thestandby so that the regions outside the range to be recorded are notdisplayed, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, instead of displaying the liveview image throughout the entire display unit 28 as illustrated in FIG.7A, the standby indicator and the shooting-in-progress indicator may bedisplayed in the same size. In the present exemplary embodiment, theindicator is expressed by the simple rectangle. Alternatively, theindicator may have an arc-like shape as illustrated in FIG. 6C or othershapes. Also in a case in which the progress is indicated on the arc asillustrated in FIG. 6C, it is only required that a section correspondingto a recorded movie is displayed in white while a section correspondingto a not-recorded movie is displayed in gray. Alternatively, theprogress may be indicated by a sector like a drawing pixel width DrawW608. The display position of the indicator has been described to be thelower side of the display unit 28 in the present exemplary embodiment.Alternatively, the indicator may be displayed on the upper side, theleft side, or the right side of the display unit 28. In addition, thedisplay colors of the sections of the indicator that indicate therespective movies may be individually set for each section. For example,before the start of the creation of a set of movies, all the sectionsare similarly displayed in gray, but the respective display colors ofthe first, the second, the third, and the fourth sections may beswitched to white, orange, brown, and black, respectively. In addition,the display color of the indicator may be settable. In addition, in thepresent exemplary embodiment, the description has been given of a casein which the display indicating a recording-unfinished portion is filledwith gray while the display indicating a recording-finished portion isfilled with white. This is merely an example, and any color may be setas long as the recording-finished portion and the recording-finishedportion are identifiable.

In addition, the display sizes, the display positions, and the shapes ofthe live view image, the indicator, the movie recording GUI button, themovie recording end GUI button, and other display objects that have beendescribed in the present exemplary embodiment are merely examples towhich the present invention is applicable.

In addition, the description has been given of a case in which an effectto be applied to each movie is determined irrespective of the content ofa movie to be recorded by the user. Alternatively, the configuration maybe such that the user sets an effect to be applied to each movie, andthe movie with the set effect being applied can be recorded onto therecording medium 200. Furthermore, an effect may be similarly applied toall the movies included in a set of movies, only one effect may beapplied to a movie corresponding to one chapter, or effect may not beapplied.

In addition, the description has been given of a case in which an effectto be applied to each movie is determined irrespective of the user'sintention, before recording the movie. Alternatively, the effect may beautomatically determined according to a predetermined condition that isbased on an object and the content of a movie that are intended by theuser. Yet alternatively, the effect may be freely-determinable by theuser. In addition, instead of being automatically selected from among 3,4, and 6 seconds, the candidate length of a recording time may besettable by the user, or another candidate length such as 5 and 8seconds may be added. In addition, the description has been given of acase in which an effect is applied in such a manner that a reproductiontime becomes 4 to 7 seconds. The reproduction time, however, is notlimited to these times, and may be 10 or 20 seconds, or 2 or 3 seconds.The candidate reproduction times are not limited to those provided inthe above-described example. In addition, the number of moviesconstituting a set of movies may not be four, and may be presettable bythe user. In addition, the number of movies finally constituting a setof movies may not match the number of movies to be recorded. In otherwords, a set of movies may include recorded movies obtained by applyinga plurality of different effects to one recorded movie, or recordedmovies obtained by applying an effect to one movie, and by applying noeffect to the one movie.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the description hasbeen given of a case in which an effect to be applied to each movie israndomly selected irrespective of an object. Alternatively, the effectmay be selected according to the size of the motion of the object. Forexample, the image lag effect or the slow motion effect may be selectedif the size of the motion of the object is equal to or larger than apredetermined size. In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, asfor the color filter/brightness combination effects, the same effect isapplied to all the four recordings. Alternatively, the colorfilter/brightness may be set in each recording. Nevertheless, areproduction time does not become longer or shorter than a recordingtime due to the color filter or the brightness combination effect beingapplied.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the description hasbeen given of a case in which creative movie recording is ended upon thesecond shutter switch 63 being pressed during the creative movierecording, even if a set recording time has not elapsed. Alternatively,after the second shutter switch 63 is pressed during the creative movierecording, a warning indicating that if the second shutter switch 63 ispressed, the creative movie recording is ended and a halfway movie isrecorded may be issued without stopping the movie recording. Inaddition, if the user issues an end instruction (presses the secondshutter switch 63) even though the warning is issued, the endinstruction may be received. In addition, at the start of the creativemovie recording, a warning indicating that if the second shutter switch63 is pressed, the creative movie recording is ended may be issued inadvance.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the description hasbeen given of a case in which a recording time is preset for a movie tobe recorded as each chapter, and the recording is stopped in response tothe lapse of the recording time. A recording time may not be necessarilythe preset one. In other words, as a predetermined condition regardingthe stop of recording of a movie to which a desired effect is to beapplied, aside from the recording time, the motion of an object and thechange in color temperature or brightness may be used. For example, in acase in which the slow motion or the image lag effect is to be applied,if an object does not move so much, a movie has little change when achapter is viewed, so that a movie uninteresting for the user isobtained. In view of the foregoing, motion detection of a movie beingrecorded is performed, and the recording may be stopped in response tothe detection that the motion of an object becomes equal to or greaterthan a predetermined amount. Alternatively, for example, in a case inwhich the slow motion effect is to be applied, if a movie in which anobject sufficiently moves is recorded, a movie interesting for the useras a slow motion movie is obtained. Thus, in such a case, recording maybe stopped in response to the motion of the object becoming equal to orlarger than a predetermined amount. Alternatively, in a case in which itcan be determined that a recording scene has changed, for example, bydetecting that another object than the object having been moved isdetected, the slow motion effect, the image lag effect, and the like maybe applied, and movie recording may be stopped.

Furthermore, the description has been given of a case in which thenumber of chapters included in a set of movies is preset. Alternatively,the number of chapters may be changed according to the motion of anobject and the change in color temperature or brightness. For example,in response to it being determining that there is little change in themotion of an object when, among a plurality of recorded chapters, thechapters are compared with each other, the recording may be stopped soas not to continue the recording any more. In addition, in a case inwhich the change of an object increases as the recording progresses, andit is determined that increasing the number of chapters results in thecreation of a set of movies more interesting for the user, the number ofchapters to be recorded may be increased.

In addition, the description has been given of a case in which, duringcreative movie recording, the progress rate display of the indicatorproceeds (the display color of the indicator is changed) in response tothe rewriting time Tα elapse. Alternatively, the recording progress maybe indicated by color density. The description of such a case will bedescribed assuming that a recording-unfinished portion is expressed inblack while a recording-finished portion is expressed in white. At thestart of recording, all the regions of a section corresponding to achapter being recorded are displayed in black, and as the recordingprogresses, the display color gradually becomes pale, i.e., changes fromgray close to black to gray close to white. Then, all the regions of thesection are displayed in white in response to a recording time elapse.In addition, during recording standby, a section corresponding to anot-recorded chapter is displayed in black while a section correspondingto a recorded chapter is displayed in white. The user can therebyrecognize the progress of the recording among all the movies both duringrecording and during recording standby. The display colors indicating arecording-unfinished portion and a recording-finished portion are notlimited to the above-described colors. The display colors may be anycolor, and the color change may not be between two colors. The displaycolor may change to various colors, such as yellow, orange, red, purple,blue, and green. In addition, the display colors of all the regions of acorresponding section may not be evenly changed. For example, a regionindicated by the gradation from black to white may be provided, and asthe recording progresses, the region may proceed little by little (by apredetermined amount) according to the progress rate. In such a case,the user can also recognize the recording progress through the colorchange.

In addition, control by the system control unit may be performed by asingle hardware component. Alternatively, a plurality of hardwarecomponents may share processes, thereby controlling the entireapparatus.

In addition, the present invention has been described in detail based ona desirable exemplary embodiment thereof. The present invention,however, is not limited to these specific exemplary embodiments, andvarious configurations without departing from the gist of the presentinvention are included in the present invention. Furthermore, eachexemplary embodiment described above merely indicates an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

In addition, in the above-described exemplary embodiment, thedescription has been given of an example case in which control regardingthe display of recording progress of the present invention is applied tothe digital camera. Such control, however, is not limited to thisexample, and applicable to any image capturing control apparatuses orelectronic apparatuses as long as the apparatus can control recording ofa movie to which an effect is to be applied. In other words, the presentinvention is applicable to a personal computer, a personal digitalassistance (PDA), a portable phone terminal, a portable image viewer, aprinter apparatus having a display, a digital photo frame, a musicplayer, a game apparatus, an electronic book reader, and the like.

Furthermore, in the above-described exemplary embodiment, thedescription has been given of an example case in which control regardingthe recording stop of the present invention is applied to the digitalcamera. Such control, however, is not limited to this example, andapplicable to any display control apparatuses or electronic apparatusesas long as the apparatus can create a set of movies from a plurality ofmovies. In other words, the present invention is applicable to apersonal computer, a PDA, a portable phone terminal, a portable imageviewer, a music player, a game apparatus, an electronic book reader, andthe like that have a camera function or a function of controlling acamera.

The present invention is also realized by executing the followingprocessing. More specifically, the processing is executed in such amanner that software (a program) for realizing the function of the aboveexemplary embodiment is supplied to a system or an apparatus via anetwork or various recording mediums, and a computer (or a CPU, a microprocessing unit (MPU), or the like) of the system or the apparatus readsand executes a program code. In this case, a program and a storagemedium storing the program constitute the present invention.

According to the present invention, among a set of movies constituted bya plurality of movies, the user can easily recognize the recordingprogress among all the movies constituting the set.

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display control apparatus comprising: one ormore processors that operate to: perform processing on a movie; andperform control so as to display an indicator indicating progress of theprocessing on a set of movies constituted by a plurality of moviestogether with a movie on which the processing is being performed, theindicator being displayed on a display; wherein the indicator isdisplayed in such a way that a plurality of sections respectivelycorresponding to the plurality of movies is identifiable, each of theplurality of sections corresponding to a different one of the pluralityof movies, and a section corresponding to a movie among the plurality ofmovies is displayed even if the processing has not been performed on themovie, wherein, while the one or more processors are performing theprocessing, the progress of the processing is displayed in a section ofthe indicator corresponding to the movie on which the processing isbeing performed, and wherein even if the plurality of movies includes amovie having a length different from at least one of the other movies,the plurality of sections respectively corresponding to the plurality ofmovies is displayed in a same length as each other.
 2. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part corresponding toa movie on which the processing has been performed and a partcorresponding to a movie on which the processing has not been performedin the set of movies are displayed in the indicator in different displayforms.
 3. The display control apparatus according to claim 2, whereinthe one or more processors display on the display the part correspondingto the movie on which the processing has been performed and the partcorresponding to the movie on which the processing has not beenperformed in different colors.
 4. The display control apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors display on thedisplay the progress in a section based on a ratio of a length of themovie on which the processing has been performed to a total length of amovie corresponding to the section in each of the plurality of sections.5. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theplurality of sections respectively corresponding to the plurality ofmovies is arranged in order of performing the processing.
 6. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the movie ispredetermined in each of the plurality of sections of the indicator. 7.The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessing is movie capturing processing or recording processing.
 8. Adisplay control apparatus comprising: one or more processors thatoperate to: receive an instruction to capture a movie from a user; causea sensor or camera to capture a movie in response to the receivedinstruction; generate a set of movies from a plurality of moviesrespectively corresponding to a plurality of instructions, each of theplurality of movies corresponding to a different one of the plurality ofinstructions; and perform control so as to display, on a display, anindicator indicating progress of capturing a movie started in responseto the received instruction together with a movie captured by the sensoror camera, wherein the one or more processors display on the display, asone indicator, progress of capturing the plurality of moviesrespectively corresponding to the plurality of instructions for the setof movies, and wherein the one or more processors display the indicatorin such a way that a plurality of sections respectively corresponding tothe plurality of movies corresponding to the plurality of instructionsis identifiable, each of the plurality of sections corresponding to adifferent one of the plurality of movies.
 9. The display controlapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the one or more processorsdisplay the plurality of sections corresponding to the plurality ofmovies in order of capturing the movies.
 10. The display controlapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the one or more processorsdisplay a section corresponding to a captured movie and a sectioncorresponding to a movie that has not been captured in the indicator indifferent display forms.
 11. The display control apparatus according toclaim 10, wherein the one or more processors start, in response toreception of the instruction, displaying progress of a movie captured inresponse to the instruction in the section corresponding to the moviethat has not been captured adjacent to the section corresponding to thecaptured movie.
 12. A control method of controlling a display controlapparatus, the control method comprising: performing processing on amovie; and performing display control so as to display an indicatorindicating progress of the processing on a set of movies constituted bya plurality of movies together with a movie on which the processing isbeing performed; wherein the indicator is displayed in such a way that aplurality of sections respectively corresponding to the plurality ofmovies is identifiable, each of the plurality of sections correspondingto a different one of the plurality of movies, and a sectioncorresponding to a movie among the plurality of movies is displayed evenif the processing has not been performed on the movie, wherein, whilethe processing is being performed, the progress of the processing isdisplayed in a section of the indicator corresponding to the movie onwhich the processing is being performed, and wherein even if theplurality of movies includes a movie having a length different from atleast one of the other movies, the plurality of sections respectivelycorresponding to the plurality of movies is displayed in a same lengthas each other.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring a program for causing a computer to execute the control methodof controlling the display control apparatus according to claim
 12. 14.A control method of controlling a display control apparatus, the controlmethod comprising: receiving an instruction to capture a movie from auser; generating a set of movies from a plurality of movies captured bya sensor or camera in response to a plurality of instructions, each ofthe plurality of movies corresponding to a different one of theplurality of instructions; and performing display control so as todisplay an indicator indicating progress of capturing a movie started inresponse to the instruction together with a movie captured by the sensoror camera, wherein, in the display control, progress of capturing theplurality of movies respectively corresponding to the plurality ofinstructions for the set of movies is displayed as one indicator, andwherein the indicator is displayed in such a way that a plurality ofsections respectively corresponding to the plurality of moviescorresponding to the plurality of instructions is identifiable, each ofthe plurality of sections corresponding to a different one of theplurality of movies.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the controlmethod of controlling the display control apparatus according to claim14.